A Multiphase Model for Assessing the Overall Yield Strength of Soils Reinforced by Linear Inclusions

Conceived as an extended homogenization procedure, a multiphase approach for ascertaining the macroscopic behavior of reinforced soil structures has been developed in the last years. This contribution is dedicated to the evaluation of the yield strength properties of soils reinforced by linear inclusions by making use of a homogenization procedure, in which the reinforced soil is regarded as a periodic composite, as a first calculation, and using the multiphase model. It appears from such a calculation that only the multiphase model is able to capture scale and boundary effects, which may play an important role in the yield design of reinforced structures. The decisive element is the introduction of a parameter characterizing the strength of the interaction between two continuous media (“phases”) representing the soil and the reinforcing inclusions, respectively. A preliminary analysis suggests that such a parameter varies in direct proportion to the inverse of a scale factor.